57,939 casualties (and those still missing) incised on the memorial’s
walls, in the order of their deaths, contribute to the monument’s
dramatic effect.
When Lin designed this pristinely simple monument, she gave a
great deal of thought to the purpose of war memorials. She con-
cluded that a memorial
should be honest about the reality of war and be for the people who
gave their lives....[I] didn’t want a static object that people would
just look at, but something they could relate to as on a journey, or
passage, that would bring each to his own conclusions....I wanted
to work with the land and not dominate it. I had an impulse to cut
open the earth... an initial violence that in time would heal. The
grass would grow back, but the cut would remain.^33In light of the tragedy of the war, this unpretentious memorial’s allu-
sion to a wound and long-lasting scar contributes to its communica-
tive ability (see “Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” page
1007).
Postmodernism
The restrictiveness of modernist architecture and the impersonality
and sterility of many modernist structures eventually led to a rejec-
tion of modernism’s authority in architecture. Along with the appar-
ent lack of responsiveness to the unique character of the cities and
neighborhoods in which modernist architects erected their build-
ings, these reactions ushered in postmodernism, one of the most
dramatic developments in later-20th-century architecture as in con-
temporary painting and sculpture. Postmodernism in architecture is
also not a unified style. It is a widespread cultural phenomenon that
is far more encompassing and accepting than the more rigid con-
fines of modernist practice. In contrast to the simplicity of mod-
ernist architecture, the terms most often invoked to describe post-
modern architecture are pluralism, complexity, and eclecticism.
Whereas the modernist program was reductive, the postmodern vo-
cabulary of the 1970s and 1980s was expansive and inclusive.
Among the first to explore this new direction in architecture
were Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) and Robert Venturi (FIG. 36-66). In
their influential books The Death and Life of Great American Cities
(Jacobs, 1961) and Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture
(Venturi, 1966), Jacobs and Venturi argued that the uniformity and
anonymity of modernist architecture (in particular, the corporate sky-
scrapers dominating many urban skylines) were unsuited to human
social interaction and that diversity was the great advantage of urban
life. Postmodern architects accepted, indeed embraced, the messy and
chaotic nature of urban life.
When designing these varied buildings, many postmodern ar-
chitects consciously selected past architectural elements or references
and juxtaposed them with contemporary elements or fashioned
them of high-tech materials, thereby creating a dialogue between past
and present. Postmodern architecture incorporates not only tradi-
tional architectural references but references to mass culture and
popular imagery as well. This was precisely the “complexity and con-
tradiction” Venturi referred to in the title of his book.CHARLES MOORE A clear example of the eclecticism and the
dialogue between traditional and contemporary elements found in
postmodern architecture is the Piazza d’Italia (FIG. 36-63) by Amer-
ican architect Charles Moore(1925–1993). Designed in the late
1970s in New Orleans, the Piazza d’Italia is an open plaza dedicated
to the city’s Italian-American community. Appropriately, Moore se-
lected elements relating specifically to Italian history, dating all the
way back to ancient Roman culture.
Backed up against a contemporary high-rise and set off from ur-
ban traffic patterns, the Piazza d’Italia can be reached on foot from
three sides through gateways of varied design. The approaches lead to
an open circular area partially formed by short segments of colon-
nades arranged in staggered concentric arcs, which direct the eye to
the focal point of the composition—an exedra.This recessed area on
a raised platform serves as a rostrum(speaker’s platform) during the
annual festivities of Saint Joseph’s Day. Moore inlaid the piazza’s
pavement with a map of Italy centered on Sicily, from which the ma-
jority of the city’s Italian families originated. From there, the map’s
Italian “boot” moves in the direction of the steps that ascend the ros-
trum and correspond to the Alps.36-63Charles Moore,Piazza
d’Italia, New Orleans, Louisiana,
1976–1980.
Moore’s circular postmodern Italian
plaza incorporates elements drawn
from ancient Roman architecture
with the instability of Mannerist
designs and modern stainless-steel
columns with neon collars.1008 Chapter 36 EUROPE AND AMERICA AFTER 1945
36-63A
STIRLING, Neue
Staatsgalerie,
Stuttgart,
1977–1983.36-63BPEI,
Grand Louvre
Pyramide,
Paris, 1988.